College Days
by john.thine
Summary: Sighing heavily, she leaned back trying to dispel those beautiful gold irises from her mind.Too bad she wasn't interested in long haired blonds." EdxWin? Maybe Winry can overlook Ed's problems and secret or will she oppose to the thought of him?
1. The worst day, turned even worse

**My first fic. **

* * *

Everything had gone wrong that day. From her hair frizzing out and cutting her leg trying to shave to slipping down the icy steps of her dorm and being told by one of her professors for the millionth time, "Maybe you should try a different job"

She would be damned to try going back and starting over. Winry wouldn't please her parents by going for a doctoral degree and going to be a Doctor, like them!_ Ever!_

Winry scoffed to herself as she passed primped and preened girls, no doubt looking forward to a job as successful beautitions or drama actresses. They rolled their eyes at her and laughed together, making Winry's face blaze red- and stumble sending her and her bag sprawling forward. There was a loud rip and everyone laughed as Winry's bag split and sent papers everywhere. Pulling her legs up under her, rubbing her sore elbow, she groaned at the papers littering the hallway.

As she started cursing her luck knowing full well that she was going to have one hell of a night trying to organize them in some decent, recognizable manner. People laughed as they stepped over papers and cat called to her, making her face burn even more. She knew she shouldn't have worn a skirt today! She mumbled pulling the side of her skirt down to cover more of her legs, hiding them from the more perverted men that walked by But would anyone stop to help? _No_. _Forget Winry, she's the geeky little mechanic and she can do it herself. If she pursued a higher paying job then maybe she would get some help!!_

"Hey"

Winry ignored whatever asshole had decided to stop and taunt her. She certainly wasn't in any mood to deal with a prat boy or some smart ass hick. Instead of polished boots or ripped sneakers, two dull leather dress shoes appeared in her line of vision, making her heave her shoulders in a deep, exhasperated sigh.

"_Hellooooo_. Do you need help?" The voice came again, sounding a little impatient and amused. Winry rolled her eyes as exaggeratingly painful as she could to emphasize the man's obvious statement.

"What does it_ look like_" she asked scathingly, without looking up, "Of course I need help, but does anyone stop to help? _No_"

She was more talking to herself then the man above her. He sighed and she didn't bother looking up to grab another fistful of papers and shoved them into her bag with a satisfying crumple; she had to take her anger out on something besides the leather footed man in front of her. She expected him to leave, but instead he kneeled down and begun picking up the papers with a less frustrated ease and neatly stacked them in a pile. She snuck a glance and saw the long golden ponytail hanging over his shoulder.

Having an urge to smack his hand away and tell him to get lost, when suddenly a hand reached out and took the crumpled papers from her fisted hand and smoothed them over his bent knee. Winry looked up prepared with a come back, but it withered as she watched him thumb through the pile of neatly stacked papers with a careful eye and stuck the wrinkled pages in.

"There you go" He smirked, holding out the thick pile of pages and notes, "Hope this helps"

Winry narrowed her eyes analyzing that smirk, _was he mocking her?_ Snatching the papers from him before he could throw them just to laugh in her face as she scrambled to pick them up again. Standing up she avoided his gaze and placed the pages under her arm along with the ripped folded up bag. Finally she gave in and looked up at him with a tentative smile.

"Oooo, hey Elric! Moving onto blondes this week?!" A tall man with short blond hair yelled out, causing Winry to scowl at him as he stepped up beside Elric.

Glaring indignantly, Winry stomped by and shoved by the so said Elric. _He was just trying to hook up with her?!_ Stalking off in an even worse mood than before she heard the two start arguing. Before he could catch up with her and make up an excuse for his friends out burst she took off for the library. Just before she thought the day couldn't get any worse some incredibly good looking guy that seemed sweet and contained some moral values tried adding her to his little black book!

Slamming her papers down on a table in the library she earned a glare that could scare off the grim reaper himself from the librarian. Winry gave her a look that clearly said, '_Back off, bitch, before I skin you alive'_

Placing the pile of papers down on the table, preparing to at least start organizing them she stopped dead staring at them. Quickly she started thumbing through them, looking at all the dates.

They were all organized.

She couldn't believe it. Besides the few papers she had angrily stuffed into her bag all these pages were in the correct order, no date out of it's place in the pile.

_'Hope this helps' _

Sighing heavily, she leaned back trying to dispel those beautiful gold irises from her mind.

Too bad she wasn't interested in long haired blonds.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Winry had decided it and it was final. No matter how much her friends told her No she wouldn't have it. That night she took two of her friends to the bar right down the street of the college. Rose watched bemusedly as Winry downed a shot with clamped eye. She wasn't drinking to have _fun. _She was drinking to get _drunk._

"Winry...are you ok?" Shescka asked. Looking worried for her friend.

"Yeah you shouldn't drink so much hard stuff" Rose added, lightly sipping a beer, casting Shescka a side long glance.

"I don't care anymore. Today has been the worst ever. And I'm gonna forget before the night is out" She grumbled, "I should just give up becoming a mechanic and live in my parent's basement. They'd rather see me as a loser living below them then becoming a mechanic"

"Come on, Winry. Don't talk like that...I think it's...nice that you're trying to be...different" Shescka said with a small quirk in the corner of her mouth. Rose shook her head, "Just drop the fucking act, Winry. We all know you're acting just to piss your parents off"

Both friends looked shocked at Roses' words. She had said it and regretted it. They both knew Winry could be the biggest bitch when she wanted to, and those were fighting words.

"_Acting?!_" She screamed angrily, but her words were soon dulled by the blaring music from the bars stereo, " I wish everyone would just see that I _love_ mechanics! I don't want to become a doctor, or a lawyer, and most certainly not a _Writer_" She shot at the defenseless Shescka.

Feeling awful for shouting at Shescka, especially when she never said anything, Winry made up for it by stomping off. It seemed that Winry had finally struck the last nerve on her two friends, since before they'd stop her from leaving and forgive her for being such a bitch.

Instead she slammed herself down on a stool at the counter bar and sulked, not doubting her friends had left, probably fed up with her. She was even too depressed to keep drinking.

"Ughhh, this day sucks!" She moaned burying her face into the crook of her elbow on the counter.

Behind her glass broke and she jumped upright, whipping aound on her chair to see what cause the noise. Someone started yelling.

"I am so _done_ with you, Edward! _Every_ fucking night! You're just a hopeless lush. I'm leaving-"

"Awh, come on Michelle. Don't call me that, I'm not here_ every_ night" Elric said with a stupid grin on his face.

Winry watched as several people laughed behind their ands and made scoffing noises, so Elric was a local here. Winry looked up at the arguing couple and her insides flared. _It was Elric!_

Looking over at his girlfriend from the sound of things she noticed she had long dark wavy hair and deep brown eyes. Winry began wondering why she was wearing a thin black dress that clung perfectly to her curved body and reached mid thigh. But her tan looked fake._' Have fun with skin damage'_ Winry rolled her eyes.

At the pairs' feet was a broken glass. Melissa must have knocked it from the table in anger towards Elric. He also looked dressed up if it hadn't been for his square tie undone and the top button of his white button up shirt wasn't missing, showing off a perfectly sculpted collar bone. Winry, in her intoxicated mind, thought he looked absolutely _hot_. But it was the alcohol making her think like that- it had to be.

Elric held out his hands to her, "Come on, 'Lissa, I'm not even drunk tonight"

"Bullshit!" She screamed, making Elric flinch, everyone in the bar had their eyes on them now. It even seemed the music had stopped, "Take a look in a mirror you stupid drunk! I'm done with you!"

Winry had to admit Elric did indeed look shit faced, big time. He had an unhealthy red coloring his cheekbones that crossed over his nose and his eyes looked sheened. Even his hair was slipping out of it's once neat ponytail. "_'Lissa"_ shoved by him in the same manner as Winry did that day.

"'Lissa! Come on! Don' be that way!" Elric called after as she left the bar, slamming the door behind her. People whistled and laughed. Winry didn't find it funny as she saw Elric's shoulders slump and watched him plop back down in a chair.

A raven haired man, that was definitely drunk, wrapped his arm around Ed's limp shoulders, grinning, "Don't worry Edward. We'll hook you up with another woman. I'll keep you warm tonight" He laughed, wagging his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Everyone including Winry and Elric laughed.

"You pervy bastard" Elric laughed shoving the man away, "I'd rather have Jean than you, Mustang"

"Awh, I'm hurt, Edward" Mustang pouted, drunkenly, downing another shot, "As long as 'yer shitfaced it don' matter who it is, you had to be fucked up all the time to stand that thing. Can't say I blame ya!"

More people busted out laughing around the table and several around the bar. Elric hit Mustang on the shoulder.

"Shut up, she wasn't_ that_ bad!"

More people continued laughing and Winry found herself smiling along with Elric. So maybe he hadn't been trying to hook up with her, earlier that day. But he still, without a doubt, was a drunk. No wonder "Lissa" left him so dramatically. Elric's looks and charms must have caught her eye and she found out about this..._flaw_ and tried to change him.

Elric suddenly stood up, wavering slightly on his feet, his eyes met Winry's with brief unrecognition. He waved to Mustang.

"Well...I...better get goin'" He said trying to keep his voice from slurring.

Mustang whined like a little child, "Eddddd, why now? Stay longer"

Ed just shrugged his jacket on and mock saluted Mustang as he left, staggering slightly/ Winry sighed as she watched him leave. There goes her entertainment for the night.

Winry looked back over at the raven haired man and groaned, noticing that he was leering at her, with a sleek smirk on his face.

_'Great, prepare for bad pick up lines'_

Standing up, slipping her coat on quickly she started for the door but bumped into a broad chest. Glancing up she nearly rolled her eyes. It seemed this Mustang was a little persistent. Although she had to admit he was a good looking man.

"Hello there" he slurred, "Mind if I... I bought you a drink?"

Winry put on her sweetest smile, "Oh, but it looks like you've had enough yourself tonight, _Sir_"

"Nonsense, I've only had a couple" he said blinking down at her, he almost seemed to be blocking her way to the escape. Asshole.

"Sorry, but...not interested"

A man with shorter black hair than Mustang with glasses busted out laughing as Mustang's face fell, loosing all his mantra. Scooching by him she fled for the exit before it got too late and more rowdy men hit on her.

Word of advice, Never pick a man up from the bar to be your husband' Never works out, as she witnessed a few moments ago in the bar.

She tightened her coat around her as she walked through the snow, the music from the bar started to fade away. The silence began sounding eerie after sitting in a bar with music blared for a few hours. She eyed a bank of snow piled with leave and dirt and many grocery bags that must have blown in from nearby parking lots. Anyone could hide in there and jump an unsuspecting victim walking to their car in the middle of the night.

Suddenly a groan cut the silence and Winry screamed jumping up of the ground, whipping around to stare at what made that noise. No one came out to attack her, just more silence. Confused, Winry walked over, taking slow, cautious steps. Looking closely she spotted two legs in the dirt covered snow and leaves. She shook her head in disbelief. _You've got to be kidding me'_

"Elric?"

No answer. Sighing she peered over and saw the legs attached to a torso and a head. He was staring up at the sky, blinking slowly with a confused twist in his brow, as if wondering how he ended up on his back on the ground. _Man, he was wasted._

"Elri- Edward are you....ok?" Of course he wasn't ok! He was collapsed in a bank and she was staring at him as if this were a normal, everyday occurrence. _'Maybe it is, for him'_ She thought snidely, as she stepped over the snow and stood over him, looking down at him. He blinked a few times at her, squinting. Suddenly his eyes widened, " Finally! Was wonderin' when an angel was gonna come save me"

Slightly embarrassed by the mistake she rolled her eyes and reached down, grabbing a hold of his shoulders, making him sit up. His head rolled back on his shoulders, loosely as he began giggling. _Giggling._

"Lookit! I'm gone! I am so happy you turned the gravity off for me! 'Thought I'd be stuck there forever!"

Ignoring his mindless prattle, she grabbed him under the arms and hoisted him up, getting dirt and snow all over her bare legs trying to get him to a standing position. This was her stupidest idea ever. She was helping a _drunk_ man in the middle of the night in a deserted parking lot. But she had the advantage. He was barely capable to stand and she had a little friend in her pocket, a metal tool she could never leave behind. One wrong move and he'd be seeing more than one angel.

His leg buckled and he lurched, pushing into Winry, nearly sending both of them to the ground.

"_Hey...hey-_" He turned paler and leaned his heavy head on her shoulder, "I think...I-...I know you"

Winry ignored him. Should she go back into the bar and leave him to his equally drunk friends? No, he'd end up in the same if not worse predicament. Why she even cared was beyond her.

_'I just want to help'_ She argued in her head. Ed just hummed to himself, his head still rolling on her shoulder as she kept one arm wrapped securely around his waist, trying to steady his staggering.

"Uh-oh" He murmured looking horrified. He lifted his head and looked at her.

"What's wro-"

Wet, warm, nose burning vomit rolled down the front of her jacket as she stood there, mouth gaping, arms spread out, staring in horror at her front. It dripped off her and landed in the snow. She could feel herself beginning to gag from the smell. And what does Elric do? Giggle that maddeningly adorable laugh. She would have found it cute if bile wasn't running off her $200 jacket.

"What. The. Hell, Elric?!" She screamed, peeling the material off her body and shivering as the cold air suddenly embraced her warm skin.

"I-...I'm sorry!" He laughed, collapsing on his rear end in a fit off giggles, "I didn'...didn'...I didn' mean it!"

She was tempted to leave his ass here in the middle of the parking lot and maybe running him over on her way out, but instead she folded the jacket so the the wet side folded in against itself and tucked it under her arm.

"Alright where do you live?" She asked, rubbing her forehead. She was so marking this day the worst ever. Helping him up again, he pointed towards the apartments across the street. Oh, how convenient, let a alcoholic live across from a bar. He owed her for saving his ass from a night in 20 degree weather and from getting phenomia.

And he owed her a new coat.


	2. You can't leave!

**It's un edited so I'm warning you for crappy writing. I'm still looking for a beta. Please bare with me.**

**-Ken**

* * *

"I thought you said you lived in apartment six"

"I-I...I _do"_

_"_This _is _six!"

"_No_. This is...is _nine_"

Winry couldn't help hold him up anymore, she steered him over to a bench in the hall and made him sit. The second he sat down he laid onto his side and started humming again.

"Give me your keys" She said holding her hand out to him. Oh how appealing it sounded to leave him on the bench for the night and let him be embarrassed by the neighbors. But she couldn't be that heartless.

Lifting his head from the bench he squinted at her, as if he just noticed her, "My _what?"_

_"_Your _keys_" She said, dragging out the word as if she were talking to a two year old so that they could understand. But it didn't seem to work as well on him as he just stared at her with a dumb look on his face.

"My _keezah? _What the hell is a keezah?"

Playing around with the idea of slapping him, she decided not to and just pointed at his pocket of his pants. He blinked at the finger than at his pocket and seemed to understand.

Reaching into his pocket he emptied it all out on the floor. A cell phone. Pocket watch. A couple pens. And _finally _a set of keys. Once she snagged the keys from him before he could drop them his head hit the seat of the bench again.

After opening the door she left the keys in the slot and went over to pick up all the stuff he emptied on the ground and held it out to him.

"I don't want 'em"

"Edward, this is a _three hundred dollar _cellphone. Of course you want it" She knew because it was the same model she wanted but her parents said they'd buy it for her and set up a plan that they would pay for if she went to med school. Talk about buying someone.

"I don't want it!" He whined.

Stuffing everything into her hand bag that she had strapped over her shoulder, she grabbed him by the shoulder and made him stand and walk into the apartment. She smiled as she thought of her parents, oh how they would kill her for what she was doing. But she was 22, she could make her own stupid mistakes.

He suddenly shrugged her off and headed for another doorway, only staggering a few times. She watched him dissappear through the door way and she stood there caught.

Should she just leave and lock the door behind her? Of course she would leave all the stuff he emptied from his pocket on the table beside the door. But whatever family he came from, they must be loaded, because this apartment was _nice _and their was no way a pre-grad could afford this on their own.

The phone in her bag started ringing and she jumped, emitting a yelp of surprise. Pulling the phone out she realized that it wasn't hers, but Edward's. She read the caller ID.

_Alphonse _

Answering it on impulse she heard a panicky voice on the other end.

_"Brother?! What are you doing?! How could you drink tonight, it was family reunion!"_

"Um...Alphonse? This is...Winry" She stated awkwardly.

_"Oh! I'm so sorry for blowing up on you like that!" _His voice dropped his pitch,_ "Is Ed alright?"_

"He-uh...He's _really _drunk, I just-"

_"Is Roy there? Or Jean?"_

"Um, no, no one's here. I just dropped im off. I was leaving now-"

_"Wait! You can't leave him alone! Where'd you find him? Was he at the general store again?"_

"No. He was outside of the bar in a snow bank" She said a little angrily, "Look I don't even know this guy. I just brought him him to his apartment out of pity"

_"In the _snowbank_?! Oh no... listen you _can't _leave him alone when he's drunk. Please wait! I'll be over in half an hour"_

_"_Wait a minute! I don't even know him and you want me to stay here?!"

"_Please! He's harmless! He just can't be left alone"_

"Why not?"

There was a silence on his end for a moment.

"_He's...he can get a little...god, he'd kill me for telling you..."_

"Alphonse, just _tell _me. What's the problem? If you don't give me a good excuse then I'm not staying"

"_He's got anxiety and depression problems" _Alphonse said in a rush, _"When he's drunk and alone it gets worse. So please please please don't leave him or he'll do something stupid or freak out"_

"I am not staying with someone who's going to freak out!"

"_He won't! Just stay in the apartment and he won't do _anything_, I promise! Look, I'll pay you, how does a hundred dollars sound?"_

"You're paying me to babysit your drunk twenty-something year old brother?"

"_Just please don't leave him! Roy and Jean _know _better than to leave him alone when he's drunk. Now something bad'll happen and it'll be all my fault!" _Alphonse's' voice started breaking and Winry began feeling sorry for him.

"Ok, look. If you promise me he won't...do anything if I stay....I'll watch him" She sighed.

"_Really?! You will?! Ok I _promise, _he's easy to watch. Just wait, I'm leaving right now!"_

Before Winry could say anything else he hung up. Sighing deeply, she re pocketed the phone and started for the doorway Edward went through. What was Alphonse talking about anxiety and depression problems. Although she hated to admit it, she did know a lot in the medical field and depression problems didn't come from just anywhere. What happened to him?

All she knew was that that little brat better be right about him being harmless or both of them would end up with concussions.

Walking through the doorway she found herself in a small and simple kitchen. Edward was over at a black table with a glass top. _He shouldn't be around that. _Moving over to him she was about to tell him to get up when she saw a can in his hand and he seemed to be having a stare down with it.

"Why are you _still _drinking? Haven't you learned your lesson?"

He jerked his head up and blinked at her. She almost lost her serious mask as she saw the disarray of his hair, pieces were sticking on end and one side of his bangs were trying to stick straight up but instead they flopped over themselves, giving into gravity.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked.

Winry frowned, "I'm the _angel _who saved you from the gravity" She said rolling her eyes.

"Ohhhhh... you can...you can have whatever you want. I owe you big time" He said looking back at his can to resume the match.

Walking over angrily she snatched the can from him and frowned at him, "You've got to be joking. This afternoon you seemed really sweet and now you're trying to over drink?"

He only shrugged, "I don't like this anymore...can you just end it?"

Winry's eyes widened, _oh damn. _  
"No, Edward. You said you owed me right?"

He nodded sullenly, staring at the glass top of the table.  
"Then just go to bed ok? It's just your depression making you think like that and alcohol is just going to make it worse... go to bed"

Winry knew now why his brother panicked so much. She almost felt like panicking herself.

"Y-you wan' me to go to bed?" He asked her, finally meeting her eye. She nodded and he broke out into a grin, throwing her for a loop as he stood up and left. Shaking her head she picked up the can from the table and dumped it out in the sink. She half wondered if she should throw all alcohol out, but if Edward was this bad of a drinker it'd take her all night.

Rinsing her hands off from the sticky feeling of beer she dried her hands off on a towel. For an alcoholic Edward seemed to keep his place nice at least, or did someone do it for him?

As she set the towel back down on the counter she heard a loud smash and a thud as her heart stopped and she ran. She flew out of the kitchen to find the noise and tripped over something sending her to the ground just like this afternoon. Is her life doomed to repeat?!

As she sat up she felt her knee had a wide cut on it and it was bleeding all over her leg. But that didn't matter, what did Edward do?! A noise behind her made her stop and look over her shoulder.

On the ground behind her Edward was sprawled on his back a book in his hand. In her hurry to get out of the kitchen she saw a book shelf was knocked over and books were thrown everywhere. A tell tale stool was on its side propping up one of Edward's legs.

"God, you idiot! I said go to bed, not get a freaking dictionary!" She yelled, standing up and wincing at her knee. Moving over to Edward she saw he had a split down his forehead and blood was seeping through his bangs. He looked dazed.

"Edward? Are you alright?! How hard did you hit your head?!" She asked, helping him sit up. Ok, first she needed to stop their bleeding. It wasn't life threatening but it was getting the nice tan rug under them stained with ugly brown spots and smears.

The door opened and Winry heard loud laughing and she blanched as she saw Roy Mustang and Jean from the bar and other guys come in. At first they just stared until a man stepped over.

"Jeez, are you two alright? There's blood everywhere, what happened?" The man asked. Winry faintly recognized him as the one who laughed when she turned Roy down at the bar.

"H-he knocked the case over and got cut. I didn't know he was laying in front of the doorway so I ran out and...tripped over him"

"Roy get Ed's head cleaned off, and come on I'll take care of your knee"

Winry pulled away from the man with a glare, "I can take care of my self!"

The man regarded her with his green stare and she felt pinned. Instead of fighting she let him help her into the kitchen and over to a chair. She realized she couldn't put much weight on her knee.

She watched him warily as he went over to the counters and pulled open a drawer, pulling out a cloth. After he wetted it down he came back over and wiped the blood off her shin and folded the cloth and pressed it to the cut. Turning red she grabbed the cloth and held it there herself.

"I have a daughter of my own. She's always getting bumps and scrapes. So...are you the girl Ed was cheating with on Melissa?"

"_What?"_

He smiled and shook his head as he went over to the other side of the table and sat down, "Melissa has been spreading rumors that Ed is cheating on her"

"I thought they broke up in the bar tonight"

"Yeah, they always 'break up'. I don't know why Ed keeps going back to her, she's kinda....she's kind of a bitch"

Winry scowled at him, "I would be too if my boyfriend got drunk every night"

"Nah, its not that. That's just something for her to bitch about. But really...I really hope this is the last time"

"Well, for the record, I'm only here because I found that lush buried in a snowbank outside the bar and felt bad so I took him home. There's _nothing _between us" She said with callousness, "The only reason I stayed was because his whiney little brother called and begged me to stay"

The man busted out laughing, "That sounds like Alphonse, alright. But I really am thankful too that you stayed"

"What's wrong with him?" Winry finally asked, feeling water start dripping down her leg from the cloth on her knee, "Why is he such a drunk?"

The man started looking uncomfortable, "Well...its not my place to say anything but... ask Alphonse, he's more open about it"

Winry scoffed, staring down at the bloodied rag under her hand, "I'm not asking someone I never even met before"

"Ok, I don't care who you are, you will _love _Alphonse. That kid is the most lovable thing you'll ever meet"

"I think I'll pass on _loving _him too"

"Ouch, you're pretty cold"

"I'm not exactly having a good day, ok?!" Winry snapped at him, jutting out her lower jaw in anger as she tested her knee by bending it.

"I can see that. Running into Edward would make anyone's day a living hell" He joked, adjusting his glasses and reached a hand out across the table, "'Name's Maes. Maes Hughes"

Winry stared at his hand. She could see the golden band on his left finger and was slightly impressed. A lot of men removed their rings when they went out, but it seemed Maes kept his on.

Trying a smile she grabbed his hand after wiping it off her skirt, "Winry Rockbell"

"It's nice to meet you, Winry" He looked at the doorway and Winry could hear that same panicky, pitchy voice she heard on Edward's cellphone, "I think its time for you to meet Alphonse"


End file.
